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Iftikhar Ahmed, Pakistan’s white ball specialist, has occasionally “felt like a tailender” when the team management has requested that he bat as low as number 7 or 8 in recent limited over games for the national team.
During a media conference in Faisalabad, where players are gathering for the Champions Cup competition, Iftikhar stated he didn’t think of himself as a middle-order batter.
“I am not a middle-order batter, I am a lower-order batter. I am not an all-rounder, I am a tailender. If you see, I bat at No.7 or 8. And if you look at the all-rounders and middle order batters around the world, you would see they bat at Nos 4 or 5. But I play at No.7 and 8 and I think of myself as a tailender,” he said.
The 34-year-old Iftikhar, who has participated in 4 Tests, 28 ODIs, and 66 T20Is, has had a difficult time recently in international matches and also had trouble in this year’s World T20 Cup.
Given that so many younger players are currently making their way up from the junior ranks, some have questioned his value to the squad.
In his 55 innings during his T20I career, Iftikhar has batted at No. 5, No. 7, and No. 10 25 times in total.
Iftikhar said that he thought he still had a lot to provide the national team and that he was eager to make an impression at the Champions Cup.
In the upcoming white ball format matches this year and prior to the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, he expressed confidence that the Pakistani team, which boasts some excellent players, will soon turn things around.